Question: Express this product in scientific notation: $(5.20\times 10^{-2})\times (8.00\times 10^{-4})$
Answer: Start by collecting like terms together. $= (5.20\times 8.00) \times (10^{-2}\times 10^{-4})$ When multiplying exponents with the same base, add the powers together. $= 41.6 \times 10^{-2\,+\,-4}$ $= 41.6 \times 10^{-6}$ To write the answer correctly in scientific notation, the first number needs to be between $1$ and $10$ . In this case, we need to move the decimal one position to the left without changing the value of our answer. $ $ We can use the fact that $41.6$ is the same as $4.160 \times 10$ $ = {4.160 \times 10} \times 10^{-6} $ $= 4.160\times 10^{-5}$